THIS BLOG OPPOSES DRACONIAN LAWS & POLITICAL SCAPEGOATING BY SOME POLITICIANS! * THE PUNISHMENT IS THE CRIME * FOR A WORLD WITHOUT VIOLENCE * WHERE DOES THAT COME FROM? * A) DALAI LAMA: "LOVE, PEACE AND KINDNESS YOU CAN'T BREAK IT." * B) FREDERICK NIETZSCHE: "LOVE YOUR ENEMY." * THERE IS ALSO FORGIVENESS BUT YOU DON'T GET THE COMPLETE PROTECTION UNLESS YOU ACCEPT BOTH OF THE A & B CONDITIONS * & FOR THAT YOU MUST COME TO TERMS WITH C) FORGIVENESS * :-)

Saturday, October 15, 2005

The referendum today in Iraq on the draft constitution is a cynical and, for the Iraqi people, humiliating event. Far from an exercise in self--determination, it is the next stage in a US--crafted, but increasingly crisis--ridden process aimed at turning Iraq into an American client state in the Middle East.

Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and others among the clique responsible for the illegal 2003 invasion will use today's vote to justify their crimes with the claim that "democracy" is being realised in Iraq. In reality, even the date of the referendum was determined according to a schedule determined in Washington. For its own political purposes, the Bush administration insisted that a constitution be adopted this month so elections can be held in December and a government formed that advances US objectives.

The new regime in Baghdad will be bound to privatise Iraq's oil industry and sign off on a status--of--forces agreement sanctioning long--term US military bases in the country. What is now Article 109 of the document declares that the oil and gas wealth of Iraq must be developed on the basis of "market principles" and in a manner that "encourages investment". Article 24 dictates "the reform of the Iraqi economy in accordance with modern economic principles", which encourage the "development of the private sector".

The remainder of the constitution is riddled with absurdities and inconsistencies. Various clauses assert the rights of women and non--Muslim minorities, but Islam has the status of "official religion of the state" and no law can contradict the "established provisions of Islam". Freedom of speech, of the press and of assembly, is given constitutional protection, but only in a "way that does not violate public order and morality". The document prohibits arbitrary arrest, coerced confessions and imprisonment by foreign entities, yet the US--led occupation forces have thousands of Iraqis imprisoned without charges and will continue to do so, constitutional guarantees or not.

The mass of the Iraqi people has had no say in the document's formulation. It was drawn up in sordid negotiations between the US ambassador, Zalmay Khalilzad, the Kurdish nationalist parties that preside over an autonomous region in the north, and the Shiite fundamentalist parties that dominate the oil--rich southern provinces of Iraq. Large portions of the document were most likely written in the US embassy.

In return for their collaboration with its plans, the US has paid off the Kurdish and Shiite parties with a constitution that sanctions the establishment of federal "regions" in the areas they control. These regions will have considerable powers over oil revenues and the right to maintain their own "internal security forces". The constitution establishes the mechanisms for the Kurdish region to be expanded to include the main oil--producing area in the north around the city of Kirkuk.

The result is a document that overturns the secular traditions of Iraq, while marginalising the Sunni Muslim ruling class that held the main levers of power for most of the twentieth century. It threatens to leave the predominantly Sunni population of central and western Iraq living in a resource--poor region, but ruled over by a central government and security forces under the control of Shiite and Kurdish sectarian parties. The sentiment among Sunnis, who have the suffered the brunt of US repression over the past two--and--a--half years, is that they have been reduced from Iraqi citizens to a persecuted minority in their own country.

Such is the degree of sectarian heat surrounding the referendum, that it is expected most people will vote according to the edicts of their religious, tribal or ethnic leaders. The pro--occupation official media has predictably given prominence to the calls for a yes vote, particularly those made in the name of the leading Shiite cleric, Ali al--Sistani.

While the expectation is that the constitution will be endorsed, there is nevertheless nervousness among US officials and representatives of the Baghdad government over the prospect of an overwhelming no vote in the predominantly Sunni--populated provinces of Anbar, Ninawa, Diyala and Salah al Din. Under the terms of the interim constitution imposed on Iraq by the US in March 2004, a two--thirds no vote in just three provinces is enough to reject the draft.

In one indication of the depth of opposition, Associated Press reported Friday that in the Sunni suburb of Baghdad of Azamiyah "not a single referendum poster was visible". Over the past several months, hundreds of thousands of Sunnis, who boycotted the national elections in January, have registered to vote with the intention of repudiating the constitution.

Desperate to prevent any possibility of the constitution being defeated, the US and its Iraqi allies engaged in last--minute attempts this week to convince at least some Sunni leaders to call for a yes vote. As he did in Afghanistan, US ambassador Khalilzad played the key role in cajoling, bribing and bullying the various factions of the Iraqi elite, all of which, including the Sunnis, are willing to accommodate to the occupation in return for petty concessions and privileges.

A farcical amendment to the constitution was introduced that allows it to be completely rewritten by a simple majority vote in the next parliament within four months of the December elections. This concession was enough for the Sunni Iraqi Islamic Party to withdraw its opposition and declare the constitution was one that any Sunni could support. As a result of the drawn out haggling, many Iraqis have not even received a copy of the document they are meant to vote on today.

Washington Post correspondents in Baghdad dryly noted on October 14: "Excitement over the charter seems low, and officials' ongoing deal--making--long after the August 15 deadline for a draft and weeks after the transitional parliament approved a supposedly final version for a national vote--has fostered a perception among many that the constitution will mean whatever politicians want it to mean."

To reach voting stations, Iraqis will have to navigate their way through an intimidating security lockdown, particularly in Sunni areas. Tens of thousands of troops and police are manning checkpoints and roadblocks. Since Thursday, all businesses have been ordered to close and a 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew is in force. All private vehicles were banned from the roads as of Friday night. The borders have been closed.

In parts of the western province of Anbar, however, there may be no voting at all. For the past two months, the Euphrates Valley--a focus of the insurgency--has been subjected to a massive US military offensive. Polling stations are unlikely to open.

Two years ago, there was no shortage of US officials and media commentators declaring the overthrow of Saddam Hussein's Baathist regime would trigger the flowering of democracy throughout the Middle East. Now, there is a general acceptance in Washington that Iraq is heading towards a sectarian civil war and that the most brutal methods will be required to secure US interests.

Regardless of the referendum's outcome, the stage has been set for an escalation in the scale and desperation of the insurgency in Sunni areas, where large numbers of people are likely to conclude they have nothing to lose from supporting the armed resistance to the occupation. The inevitable response of the US military and its puppet government will be stepped--up repression.

The US--created Iraqi security forces, which have been primarily recruited from Shiite and Kurdish supporters of the governing parties, are being ideologically prepared for atrocities that overshadow those committed in cities like Fallujah and Tal Afar.

Statements by members of the First Brigade of the Iraqi Army this week provided a chilling indication. Shiite Sergeant--Major Asad al--Zubaidi told a Knight Ridder correspondent: "When we [the Iraqi military] are in charge of security the people will follow a law that says you will be sentenced to prison if you speak against the government, and for people like Saleh Mutlak [a leading Sunni politician] there will be execution."

Standing within view of the main Sunni Umm al Qura mosque in Baghdad, Shiite Sergeant Ahmed Sabri declared: "Every man we've had killed or wounded is because of that mosque... Just let us have our constitution and our elections in December and then we will do what Saddam did--start with five people from each neighbourhood and kill them in the streets and then go from there."

The fundamental truth about today's referendum is that Iraqis have been set against one another on a reactionary sectarian basis so that the American ruling class can bring into existence a pro--US dictatorship and plunder the country's oil and gas.

Iraq's constitutional referendum makes a mockery of democracyIraq's referendum on the draft constitution to be held on October 15 has turned into a farce. Last Sunday, the US-backed ruling coalition of Kurdish and Shiite fundamentalist parties amended the country's electoral laws to virtually guarantee a positive result.

How STUPID are the Americans? DON'T GET CAUGHT BETWEEN AN ADDICT AND HIS DRUG! Saddam Hussien was a dealer. We knew he was unstable and couldn't be trusted, but he was OUR dealer. We depended on him. Things you normally wouldn't even think about doing aren't an obstacle when you're addicted.

It's better to cry wolf now than to wait until the oil has run out No one knows how much is left, but humankind can't wait any longer before coming up with alternatives. And next in the queue? Who knows? All I can say is that George Bush himself does not appear to share the US Geological Survey's optimism. "In terms of world supply," he said in March, "I think if you look at all the statistics, demand is outracing supply, and supplies are getting tight." What has he seen that we haven't?

Cindy Sheehan Arrested Outside the WhiteHouseUSA: Cindy Sheehan - the mother of a soldier killed in Iraq who set up camp outside George Bush's ranch recently - was amongst dozens arrested today outside the Whitehouse. Read her inspirational statement or non-violent action.

Eye's on the prizeGeorgie Ann Geyer, who may be America's most perceptive international affairs columnist, wrote in the Saturday, September 17 Washington Times about a recent Washington conference concerning the mess in the Middle East. That could, of course, have been a conference topic back as far as the First Triumvirate, when an earlier Crassus lost his head in the Land Between the Rivers. We can only hope we are not as close to the loss of the republic itself as Rome was by that time.

Bush, Howard, Blair, Axis of EvilFrom bad to worse is the new sub-text slogan for Bush and his administration. Appearing on US media, flanked by Cheney, Rumsfeld and numerous other (wooden) neo-cons, Bush repeated his rehearsed lines - "we are problem solvers".

A Confused MoralityThe immorality of US presidential advisor Karl Rove can not compare in magnitude to the immorality of the US wars of aggression against Iraq and Afghanistan. The Nuremberg trials set a precedent which should be applicable here.

US-inflicted carnage on Iraqi peopleThe Dossier of Civilian Casualties 2003-2005, published this month by the organisation Iraq Body Count (IBC), is the most detailed assessment to date of how the illegal US-led invasion and occupation of Iraq have caused the death and injury of tens of thousands of civilians.

CCTV for illegal and degrading warPrime loser john hoWARd says he is impressed with how effective closed circuit television cameras have been in identifying suspects in the London bombings.

Resistance in Iraq legitimate: SadrMoqtada Sadr says he will not take part in Iraq's political process while the US remains. Resistance to foreign troops in Iraq is "legitimate", Shiite leader Mr Moqtada Sadr said.

Don't Blame BushMaybe you think that it's all just a bad dream. In a few years there will be a new President of the United States and everything will be different then. Everything will be back to normal. The bad news is, you are awake. The really bad news is, it isn't Bush.

Suicide bombers may target PM: UKAUSTRALIA: UK bombers are warning fascist war criminals like john HoWARd that they could become victims to suicide bombers if they continue to pre-emptively kill, maim and torture innocent indigenous people in sovereign nation states like Iraq and Afghanistan.

Galloway breaks consensus over London bombingsHe said: "The purpose of terrorism is not only to kill and maim the innocent. It is to put despair and anger and hatred in people's hearts. [Also as a call to arms for the British people to try to legitimise the occupation's of Iraq and Afghanistan and to continue with their resource wars in the Middle East.]

London terror bombings: a political crime!Once again, the world is witnessing horrific scenes of death, injury and suffering sustained by people who bear no responsibility for the crimes committed by their governments.

Galloway: Cry for social changeThen there came a time when the colonies said, "We want to become independent and free." Now we are returning to the colonies we were driven out of. The most significant of these is Iraq.

Zarqawi: Everywhere and nowhereAMMAN, Jordan - A remarkable proportion of the violence taking place in Iraq is regularly credited to the Jordanian Ahmad al-Khalayleh, better known as Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, and his al-Qaeda-linked organization in Iraq.

US confirms civilian deaths in Afghan air strike!American-led forces have mistakenly killed scores of Afghan civilians since engineering the fall of the Taliban regime in late 2001, including 48 who died when a wedding party came under attack three years ago.

Labor, 'Showroom Dummies'Labor does not oppose illegal and degrading wars? Nor do they stand up for renditioned and tortured citizens, welfare rights, people held in detention for years on end? Or anything else that matters to the marginalised voters who have to rely on the minor parties time and time again for some support.

Australia: Lib/Lab Cult SquadAUSTRALIA: WHEN pastor peter costello delivered a speech in July last year from the pulpit of the hillsong church, an 18,000-strong cult, based in Sydney's northwestern suburbs, most people wrote them off, all accept those neo-liberals who were seeking the gargoyle vote.

Back to kill the innocentTHE fascist Federal government will send Australian militants and guerrillas to war on Afghanistan, two years after they were last deployed there in the mountains full of indigenous people.

Howard off to US, UK - part 5PART-5- PRIME minister john hoWARd will meet US president george w buSHIT, British prime minister tony blair and queen 'imperialism' herself during a 10-day visit to the United States and the UK next month.

Searching for resistance in AfghanistanTribal leaders listen in a meeting in Miana Shien, Kandahar province, southern Afghanistan, on Saturday in an attempt to end the fighting that has killed more than 175 freedom fighters since Tuesday.

Battlelines drawn on Security CouncilTHE US has outlined its first detailed position on UN Security Council reform, proposing a limited expansion of the permanent membership by two nations - one of them Japan - and foreshadowing a major statement next week on specific criteria to be met by candidate countries.

Bush's demon-aid tactic strikes againAbu Musab al-Zarqawi is the George W Bushit's mastermind demon to help bolster support to continue to wage the US-led Illegal and degrading war on Iraq. Another report that senior aide to Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi (a George Bushit demon) used time and time again, as an excuse to wage war in Iraq has allegedly been captured.

Zarqawi tape 'magic': ABRACADABRAAn [alleged] audio recording in which Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, alleged Al Qaeda's leader [scapegoat and patsy in the resource wars who must have bled to death in Iraq by now], 'already', denies reports that he has been seriously wounded, and that's magic, says Mr Houdini, a magician.

Lying and bullshitting the same thingAustralia: The Un-Australian Newspaper: "AS well as all the bullshit in politics, there's even more in our metaphoric and colloquial language. Bullshit is the subject of serious philosophical inquiry in a little book called On Bullshit, published by the 'highly respected' Princeton University Press. To the surprise and delight of the author, it's stampeding out of bookshops all over the world."

Is this our most dangerous Newspaper?The Daily Terrorist should be managed with manacles and flown into Siberia via a jumbo jet tomorrow amid fears government fascists may attempt to use them again on someone else.

IRAQ: Washington gives up on Iraqi security forces?According to a United Press International report published the next day, General John Abizaid, who directs all US military forces in the Middle East, described the progress in developing Iraqi forces to fight the anti-occupation resistance as "disappointing".

UN Dialogue among CivilizationsThis roundtable is a contribution to the UN Dialogue among Civilizations project that began in September 2000. At the first round table debate on Dialogue among Civilizations, Kofi Annan, Secretary General of the UN stated that, cultural diversity - in his opinion - is not only the basis for the Dialogue among Civilizations, but also the reality that makes dialogue necessary, since the perception of diversity as a threat is the very seed of war. [The role of religion in creating a culture of peace and moving on from a culture of fear.]

BUSH ON TRIALTuesday May 17, 2005, Brussels - Today, representatives of the World Tribunal on Iraq (WTI) delivered a law summon and invitation letter addressed to President Bush at the US Embassy in Brussels.

Iraqi police vent anger at US after car bombingsIraqi police hurled insults at US soldiers after two suicide car bomb blasts in Baghdad killed at least seven people and left 19 wounded, including policemen. "It's all because you're here," a policeman shouted in Arabic at a group of US soldiers after the latest in a bloody wave of attacks that have rocked Baghdad this month. "Get out of our country and there will be no more explosions," he told the uncomprehending Americans staring at the smouldering wreck of a car bomb.

300,000 Iraqis protest occupation and genocideBAGHDAD, Iraq - Chanting "Death to America" and burning effigies of President Bush and Saddam Hussein, tens of thousands of Iraqis flooded central Baghdad on Saturday in what police called the largest anti-American protest since the fall of Baghdad, the capital, exactly two years ago.

Annan calls for human rights agency revamp!The commission has been harshly criticised recently by human rights groups claiming it has become less of a body for upholding human rights, and more of a haven for violators.

Returning veterans of Iraq/AfghanistanIn the last two years, nearly one million U.S. service-members have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Regardless of how you may feel about the war, most of us agree that those service-members deserve the best possible care and treatment our country can provide.

The Veil of FreedomBAGHDAD, Iraq - Two years after the invasion of Iraq and just weeks before the country's first free election, [occupation, US puppet gov't] "Amina" began wearing a headscarf for the first time in her life. Her father insisted upon it.

Iraqi women eye Islamic lawBAGHDAD - Covered in layers of flowing black fabric that extend to the tips of her gloved hands, Jenan al-Ubaedy knows her first priority as one of some 90 women who will sit in the national assembly: implementing Islamic law.

IRAQ: Shiite and Sunnis to unite against occupation?Iraq: "I call on all religious and political powers that pushed towards the elections and took part in them to issue an official statement calling for a timetable for the withdrawal of the occupation forces from Iraq", Moqtada al Sadr, the popular young Iraqi Shiite cleric who last year led an armed rebellion against the US-led occupation, declared on February 4.

Democracy, Iraqi style"In a darkened hall, candidates for Iraq's main Shia party sit listening to a turbaned cleric speaking into a microphone. They are being told how to campaign for the election without getting killed.

Violence continues ahead of Iraq Shoe SalePre-Shoe Sale violence in Iraq is showing no signs of abating with the deaths today of two American militants following on from yesterday's killing of 22 US/Iraqi militants.

Rumsfeld's war, torture and occupation ideology!War criminal Donald Rumsfeld faced critical questioning at a Washington media conference, after the announcement that it was a suicide bomber who caused the blast inside a US military base in Mosul yesterday, killing 22 people including 14 illegal militants.

Annan admits to a tough yearUnited Nations secretary-general Kofi Annan admits he has had his worst year at the United Nations and he is looking forward to it being over.

Iraq sale to be contested by 100 buyersA hundred buyers, blocs and independents will contest Iraq's first shoe sale, in decades, on January 30, the George Dubya Bushit - Iraqi Sales Commission (GDB/ISC) said.

Fallujah refugees in desperate need of aid: UNMore than 200,000 people who fled Fallujah ahead of the US attack have yet to return and many are in desperate need of aid, with temperatures in Iraq heading towards freezing, a new UN emergency report says.

World Vision Aust pulls out of IraqThe organisation says the country has simply become too dangerous and its decision to leave was made before the apparent murder of Care Australia's Iraq director Margaret Hassan.

Civilian death toll to rise in FallujahThe attack on the Iraqi city of Fallujah has taken its toll on Iraqi civilians no doubt including children and young babies. Iraqi's have witnessed civilian casualties. Yesterday during the assault on the main hospital nurses and patients were blindfolded after the US/Iraq militia stormed the main hospital and took control.

Illusionary demons blamed for US led Attack Iraq, FallujahIn the name of an illusionary figure thought up by US militants suggests that Al Qaeda's? ally "Abu Musab al-Zarqawi" has called on Muslims to take up arms against their US enemy as American militia attacked the Iraqi city of Fallujah? Just a coincidence or just good timing?

Full-scale attack on Fallujah beginsCorrespondents say radio traffic heard at a US militant's staging post just outside Fallujah indicates US/Iraqi militia have moved at least four blocks into Fallujah, and are still advancing.

US/Iraqi militants storm Fallujah hospitalUnited States troops and US/Iraqi militia have seized the main hospital in the Iraqi city of Fallujah without a fight, according to a pool reporter travelling [in-bed] with the troops. Those in hospital beds did not resist they were too sick and the doctor kept on operating regardless.

US warplanes and artillery attack Fallujah!Journalists [in-bed] with the US military say warplanes fired at suspected resistance targets around Fallujah as night fell on Sunday, while artillery shells pounded a nearby town.

State of emergency: Allawi 'killer of saints'The US puppet, Iyad Allawi otherwise known as "Sock" killer of saints has declared a state of emergency for 60 days to quell violent resistance gripping the country ahead of January's shoe sale.

US Empire Votes For Pre-Emptive War!!!United States President George Dubya Bushit has been re-elected, winning four more years to press his war on liberty after a bitter campaign against Democrat John Kerry that focused on the US empire's role as - imperialists - initiating pre-emptive war - on the sovereign nation of Iraq - without the United Nations approval and in direct contravention of International law.

Saddam's family dismiss lawyerThe family of deposed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein has dismissed the head of his defence team. Other team members had accused the lawyer, Mohammad Rashdan, of acting without consulting them.

Iraqi civilian deaths put at 100,000Tens of thousands of Iraqis have been killed in violence since the US-led invasion last year, according to public health experts who estimate there were 100,000 "excess deaths" in 18 months.

Bushite group threatens civil liberties in IraqAllegedly a group led by George W Bushite has forced freedom fighters to threaten to behead a Japanese hostage it said worked with Japanese forces in Iraq if Tokyo does not withdraw its forces from the country within 48 hours.

Weapons inspectors missed WMD in IraqAn Iraqi minister has said United Nations nuclear inspectors are welcome to return in response to concerns of an "apparent systematic dismantlement" of Saddam Hussein's once-vigorous nuclear program.

US accused of breaching international lawThe United States is violating international law by holding prisoners in its war on terror incommunicado and in secret hiding places, Human Rights Watch said in a report to be published on Tuesday calling for an end to such practices.

Allies 'planned' Iraq war despite denialsThe United States, Australia and Britain started to plan the invasion of Iraq months before the conflict, according to a report Wednesday quoting a leaked Pentagon document.

UN warns of Iraqi malnutritionOne in four Iraqis are dependent on food rations to survive and many of them have to sell what little food they have for basic necessities like medicine and clothes, the UN World Food Program (WFP) said.

Jordan's king doubts Iraqi elections possibleIraq is far too unsafe to hold elections as scheduled in January and extremists would do well in the poll if Baghdad tried to hold it, Jordan's King Abdullah said in an interview. Excluding troubled areas from the nationwide poll would only isolate Iraq's Sunnis and create deeper divisions in the country, he said.

Annan tells world leaders to respect lawUnited Nations (UN) secretary-general Kofi Annan has made an impassioned plea to bring about the rule of law across the globe today. Mr Annan told world leaders to respect international law at home and abroad.

CO-OFFENDERS DO NOT REBUFF UN ON 'ILLEGAL WAR'The 'coalition of the killing's' complicities - the US, Britain and Australia - have insisted that their countries' military action in Iraq was legal after they have committed war crimes against humanity.

Iraq war illegal, says AnnanUnited Nations secretary-general Kofi Annan says the United States decision to invade Iraq in March 2003 was "illegal". Australia was a key supporter of the war on Iraq and sent troops to join the United States-led invasion last year.

Bush team 'knew of abuse' at GuantanamoEvidence of prisoner abuse and possible war crimes at Guantanamo Bay reached the highest levels of the Bush administration as early as autumn 2002, but Donald Rumsfeld, the defence secretary, chose to do nothing about it, according to a new investigation.

Ancient Babylon ruined by foreign troops: Iraqi ministerIraq: Foreign forces in Iraq have caused severe damage to the site of ancient Babylon, one of the world's most renowned archaeological treasures, and need to leave the area as soon as possible, Iraq's Culture Minister Mofeed al-Jazaeri said.

Whatcha Gonna Do, When They Come For You? Bad boy!Former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was a threat and sought to possess weapons of mass destruction, United States President George W Bush reaffirmed when asked why no such weapons had been discovered in Iraq.

Saddam trial US propagandaSaddam Hussein's trial will play an important part in the US election no doubt and for that to work at its potential just put a "women" behind it "She called the trials". Then add some "cleansing" like she's just doing the dishes and then some "reconciliation" by slaying Hussein during a US election. Now you can go and tell everyone you're reversing the trauma but really you're killing two birds with one Saddam.